Montana COPP Determines Left-Wing Dark Money Groups Violated Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 9th, 2026

HELENA, Mont. – Montana Commissioner of Political Practices (COPP) Chris Gallus released a decision today confirming campaign finance and election law violations perpetrated by Big Sky Fiscal Guardians (BSFG), Treasure State Stewards (TSS), and Montana Business Advocates for Sensible Elections (MTBASE). These left-wing dark money groups spent heavily this year to influence Republican primaries, much of which was done by funneling money into the deceptively named organization Conservatives4MT, which spent over $2 million to influence Republican legislative primary races.

The COPP decision confirms that BSFG and TSS improperly filed as incidental committees in order to “enjoy less burdensome reporting requirements [by] directly supporting candidates or ballot issues without directly disclosing the source of the funds used.”

The COPP determined that BSFG and TSS require reclassification as independent committees.

Meanwhile, MTBASE, after making an expenditure of $38,000 to Conservatives4MT, not only “fail[ed] to report a substantial expenditure, they entirely failed to register as a political committee even after receipt of this complaint, a clear violation of Montana election law and a disservice to Montana voters.”

Per the decision, MTBASE’s election law violations “will be immediately referred to the Lewis & Clark County Attorney.”

“This is a major win for transparency and election integrity in Montana. Hopefully in the future this will dissuade unscrupulous Democrat actors from engaging in dishonest campaign tactics and obscuring out-of-state liberal dark money they funnel into our Republican legislative primaries,” Montana Republican Party Chairman Art Wittich said. “We look forward to these bad actors complying with the COPP, fully disclosing their donors, and any punitive measures the authorities deem fit to mete out.”

The full COPP decision can be read HERE.